


A Little Something For Good Luck

by mixthealphabet



Series: And It Grows [16]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Part of a series for a reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-26
Updated: 2013-11-26
Packaged: 2018-01-02 17:51:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1059762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixthealphabet/pseuds/mixthealphabet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day of her trip back to her childhood home arrives, and Lucy will need all the luck she can get.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Something For Good Luck

_But I've got high hopes, it takes me back to when we started. High hopes, when you let it go, go out and start again. High hopes, oh, when it all comes to an end, but the world keeps spinning around._

For the first time since she arrived in Magnolia, Lucy Heartfilia couldn't wait to leave.

The girl shuffled around the city, making sure she hadn't gotten the wrong train tickets, talking to her landlady about the time she would be away, and letting her guildmates know where she would be, in case she was needed. Anything to keep her away from her empty apartment.

When she'd returned home the previous day, Natsu and Happy had already left.

Initially, she'd been glad they'd listened. It was already difficult enough without having to actually kick them out. But their absence was more like emptiness, and the reality of the loneliness that engulfed her when without them was disturbing.

She had never been that dependent, not even when she was still under her father's overbearing influence.

Lucy missed their laughter, their messes, and the way Happy would fly directly into her chest whenever she opened the door. She missed Natsu's warmth in her bed and his arms around her when waking up.

Worst of all, however, was that she would leave in an hour or so, and the two of them still hadn't shown up.

"Why do you look like you're on your way to a panic attack?" Came a mocking voice from her side. Gray had taken a seat there, and he twirled his drink while staring at her with vague interest.

The celestial mage rolled her shoulders back, trying to relieve some of her tension.

"It's just…" She sighed, dropping her head into her hands. "I had a fight with Natsu. I think it was a fight, at least. He never really… We had… I might have told him to move out."

Gray grimaced, taking a sip of his drink.

"Why would you do  _that_?" His voice sounded incredulous and irritated, like he couldn't believe his friend would do something so stupid. "I thought everything was going well."

With her face still buried in her hands, Lucy nodded.

"Yes, and I guess that was the problem." She hesitated. "I'm in love with him, Gray."

The ice-make mage snickered, putting down his glass so he wouldn't spill whatever was in it.

"Nothing new about that, Lucy."

The blonde turned to look at him, a frown etched on her face. It was clear that this reaction wasn't the one she'd been expecting.

"W-What? People  _know_?" She groaned, banging her head sideways against the counter. "Ow."

Gray laughed again.

Lucy really should have realized that others had already noticed her fondness for the resident fire dragon slayer. If their partnership and her softness towards his antics hadn't been enough of a sign, his presence in her apartment must have done the trick. Erza and Gray had hinted at it before, but she'd tried to ignore them, like she'd done with Mira and Cana in the previous years.

Had  _everyone_  known before Lucy herself?

"You're a masochist, aren't you?" He rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his drink, before sliding it towards her. "You love him, so you kick him out? Is that your so called logic?"

The girl dragged her finger over the glass, absently tracing its rim.

"I couldn't handle it, Gray. Sometime soon, he would have to leave. There would be a clue about Igneel's whereabouts, or a long solo mission, or… Or another girl. And what would be of me, then? I'm already way too used to his presence!" Lucy sent a look over her shoulder, searching the hall for the pink haired boy. "I think he hates me, now."

The male mage signaled for Mira to bring him another drink, disregarding Lucy's sad eyes with a shrug of his shoulders.

"He could never hate you. Flame brain is in love with you."

The blonde glared at him, feeling too exhausted in her misery to actually kick him for his ridiculousness.

She had deluded herself into thinking that maybe,  _maybe_ , Natsu would someday return her feelings; that the attraction he most probably felt towards her would somehow develop into the sort of love that had made her shiver with his touches and daydream about a future with him. She had hoped, and she couldn't afford to hope anymore.

"You do realize we're talking about Mr. Nakama, right?" She snorted derisively. "He is about as in love with me as he is with the rest of the guild."

Gray didn't really react to her words, perfectly content in downing his whisky. He glanced at her through the corner of his eyes and tipped his head back, finishing the drink.

"I've said this before: Natsu may be an idiot, but he is human. Before you came here, he never agreed to move into the city. Even when we were kids, he still lived alone in the woods. Then, you become part of Fairy Tail and suddenly," he punched the counter, making Lucy jump back. "Suddenly, he is always at your apartment, because he is  _worried_."

Gray laughed, the tips of his lips twisted in a grin that wasn't entirely sober.

"What do you mean, worried?"

The boy moved to grab the drink she still hadn't touched, but Lucy swatted his hand away.

"You were new in town, a Fairy Tail mage living alone in an apartment in the richest part of Magnolia. We didn't know much about your powers then, so everyone was a bit unsure about leaving you by yourself."

Lucy gasped, an insulted look appearing on her face.

"Is that why he is always in my apartment?"

"In the beginning, yeah." Gray chuckled and shook his head. "But that guy is an idiot, he didn't even notice when he stopped 'making sure you were okay' and started to just want to be there." His eyes met hers, and there was veiled amusement in them. "Trust me on this, squinty eyes is in love with you. He just doesn't know it yet."

Lucy continued to glare at him, crossing her arms.

"Is that in any way better? I'm in love with the densest man on Earthland." She pouted, shifting her gaze to the side. "I need to move on, Gray."

Her friend rolled his eyes, irritated by her stubbornness.

"No, you need to give him a reality check."

It was easier said than done, of course. The celestial mage had spent months thinking that she could wait for Natsu to notice her, and the results of it were anything but optimistic. She understood Gray's line of thought; if he truly believed that the pink haired idiot loved her, then he must have been annoyed by her need to give up when she was already so close.

Yet, what was she supposed to do? There was no way that Natsu liked her as more than a best friend, and she'd hurt herself enough by letting him in and then kicking him out.

Her childhood home was a good distraction. It would take her mind off of him, as well as help in putting some distance between them. She would finally have time to clear her head and put her thoughts in order, maybe even devise a plan on how to handle their transition back to mere friendship.

"I'm leaving for at least two weeks, Gray." She sighed. "I'll deal with this when I get back."

Gray stared at her silently, but the look on his eyes clearly said that he didn't agree with her.

They remained quiet for some time, Lucy looking over at the rest of the guild as the boy asked Mirajane to bring him lunch.

"Why couldn't I have fallen in love with you?" Lucy murmured after a moment. "You would have noticed. You would have done something about it, maybe even dated me, since you're not a hormone-less man child."

By her side, Gray laughed.

"Sure, we could do that." He conceded, turning to look at her. "We are good enough friends. But I would shut you out, and you wouldn't want to pry too much, because sometimes you're insecure like that."

Lucy wrinkled her eyebrows, thinking the idea through.

"It would be horrible." She acknowledged. "You would get sick of hearing me complain, and I would get sick of your drinking." She eyed his glass of whisky, and Gray shrugged. "You would have no one else to talk about how irritating I was."

"I would have flame brain," he smirked. "And he would bash my head in for it."

The girl joined him in laughter, and the two ignored the puzzled look Mira sent their way when she arrived with Gray's food.

"Damn, we are screwed up." The dark haired boy muttered to himself.

"Yes, I guess we are." Lucy ran a hand through her hair, exhaling tiredly. "You do know I would never do that to Juvia, right? Dating you wouldn't only be weird, it would be like signing my death sentence. You might think Natsu loves me, but we all know Juvia loves you."

She tried to sound light-hearted, but the subject was one that had always bothered Gray, and it reflected in the somber expression that took his features.

"What do you want me to say, Lucy?" He grumbled out. "I like Juvia as a person, but there's no future there."

Lucy frowned.

"Why not? I know you're not indifferent to her…"

The ice-make mage growled at her, but it didn't stop the girl from continuing to stare him down. He sipped his drink once again, before turning to meet her gaze.

"I get attached and people leave, simple as that. I'm not in the business of getting my heart broken." He smirked, and the maliciousness in it was almost cruelty. "That's more your deal."

Lucy wasn't fazed by this. She reached out and grabbed his glass, taking it away from him. The other huffed, but complied to it, taking a bite from his steak.

"You get mean when you're drunk." She pointed out. "And you should know that, if you don't do anything to show if you return her feelings or not, she  _will_  leave."

Gray put down his fork, grinding his teeth at Lucy. The girl didn't look at him, eyes fixed on a point over his head.

_The clock_ , he thought.  _It's almost time._

"I'm not drunk and I don't care." He replied, dismissing her latter statement.

Lucy knew he was lying, or she hoped he was. Gray was a difficult person in many ways, but he had been through a lot in the past, and it wasn't her place to question his decisions, even when he seemed to be questioning hers.

He was in a specially bad mood that day, though.

"Difficult mission?" She asked, finally realizing why he hadn't been around the past couple days.

Gray tensed.

"Forest creature. I got there too late. A kid got seriously hurt."

The blonde looked down at her feet, imagining how her friend must have felt about it. She rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"I'm sorry."

"Not the kind of thing we get used to." He confessed after a moment of hesitation. "It's why people like us look for love, I think: the comfort of having someone when the rest of the world is falling apart. Not that our team has had the best of luck in that sense."

Lucy turned to him, brows furrowing in confusion and pity.

"The world is not falling apart, Gray."

He snickered, whirling around in his stool to look at her fully.

"Isn't it?" He lifted an eyebrow at her. "We are all sob stories, Lucy. What do you do when a man loves a woman, but won't notice his feelings?" He gestured towards her, before pointing to the outdoor area, where Erza talked to Mira and Lisanna. "What do you do when two people love each other, but love isn't good enough?" He shook his head, letting his arms fall limp at his sides. "What do you do when love isn't an option?"

Lucy blinked, surprised by her friend's outburst.

"When did you become such a poet?" She stumbled over her words, still processing what he'd said. "I thought I was the writer here."

Gray chuckled, and all the intensity that had previously been in his eyes dissolved back into his blank stare.

"After three, or four, shots of whisky, apparently." His usual smirk twisted his lips up, and the celestial mage was hit with the realization that he would be alright, in spite of tormented pasts and difficult presents.

She smiled.

"I should go." Lucy stood up, taking a last look around. "If Natsu and Happy show up, tell them I said goodbye." She grabbed the glass of whisky he'd slipped towards her earlier and downed it in one go, grimacing at the taste. "Wish me good luck."

"Lucy." Gray reached into his pocket, trying to look nonchalant. "I have a bad feeling about this trip of yours."

The blonde's expression morphed into surprise.

"I… really hadn't expected you to say that."

"Cana talked to me about it earlier." He continued, placing a small crystal-like globe over the counter. "Luck, fate, whatever she reads in those cards, it's not clear, but it's not good. You can handle yourself, so I'm not overly worried." Something shifted in the knit of his brows and Lucy almost called him out on his lie. "But take this. It's a tracker, like that card Cana gave you during the S-class trials. It will break in case you're in danger, and the replica I have will do the same, letting me know."

The look that she directed at him this time was full of tenderness, and Lucy pocketed the object without resisting.

"Giving me presents, talking about how I can fight… Are you trying to woo me?" She teased, feeling normal for the first time that day.

Gray snickered again, but said nothing, already turning back to his meal.

The girl picked her suitcase off the ground and started to make her way out, before stopping and looking over her shoulder at her dark haired friend.

"Hey!" She called. "What you said earlier… About 'what do you do'…" Lucy grinned, eyes in a mix of sadness and determination. "You do your best, Gray."

The ice-make mage sneered at this, but he brought his glass up anyway, as if in a toast.

"I'll drink to that."

* * *

It wasn't until a blue furball hit her square in the chest that Lucy realized someone had been calling her name.

She'd just finished loading her suitcase into the train and decided to take a last look around before going back to her seat to wait for their departure. She hadn't thought there would be a reason to spend the last ten minutes in the station, since the only two that could have accompanied her to it were avoiding her, probably angry about their fight the previous day.

The girl was pleased to have been wrong.

"Happy!" She exclaimed, embracing him tightly. "I'm so glad you came."

Her voice broke, and Lucy had to take a deep breath to stop herself from crying from relief.

"Lu-shy!" The exceed's reply was muffled in her clothes, but she could still hear the joy in it, and it made a surge of affection run through her. "Sorry we are late!"

The celestial mage smiled softly, letting him go.

"I'm just so glad you're here." She admitted, drying up the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"Washing clothes is way more difficult than I thought."

Lucy shifted her gaze to Natsu, who was standing a few steps away from them, as if he was unsure whether he was allowed near her or not. The blonde reached towards him, gesturing for the boy to come closer.

"I'm sorry for yesterday!" She spoke quickly, tripping over her vowels.

This seemed to catch Natsu off guard, because his eyes widened and he shifted to the side.

"No need for that, weirdo." He grinned, and the brightness of it made warmth rush through Lucy. She had been so afraid of the damage she might have caused with her harsh words that she hadn't, not even for a second, thought that Natsu would just let it slide, that he would come to her like he'd always done, all destructive manners and unrestrained delight.

"Yeah, Lucy is moody, but we looove her." Happy let the word roll out of his tongue, now flying in circles over her head.

In spite of her annoyance, she laughed.

"Don't cry." Natsu frowned, rubbing away the tears that had escaped from her eyes. "We should have told you what we were doing. I told Erza you get worried easily."

"But Erza is scary!" The blue exceed complained. "She said you needed time to calm down."

Lucy smiled, finding it funny that, for what was probably the only time ever, she wished Natsu hadn't listened to the Titania.

"When you didn't come home, I thought you were mad at me about…" She started, lowering her gaze and crossing one arm over her stomach.

"Natsu cried." Happy laughed into his hand, ignoring the affronted look on his best friend's face.

"I did not!" The boy denied. "You were the one crying! I came up with the idea that would get her to forgive us!"

Lucy met his eyes, puzzled – and a bit excited – by this statement.

"What idea?"

The grin had returned to Natsu's lips. Without saying another word, he unwrapped the scarf from around his neck and gently involved hers in it.

"For good luck!" He explained. "We went to Levy, because we needed to wash it."

"Since you're always so prissy about dirt!" Happy piped in, but there was no ill intent in his tone.

"Yeah! We thought water would do, but Levy sent us to get a bunch of things, and then Erza was there, and she sort of forced me to wash most of my things and some of hers." He scratched his neck, grimacing at the memory. "I ended up crashing at my place, because it was nearer. And we only woke up, I don't know, half an hour ago?"

The smiled seemed to be permanently etched on her face. Lucy tried to erase it, but she couldn't, so she simply hid it behind Natsu's scarf.

"Are you sure?" She asked, overwhelmed by the gesture. "This was Igneel's, and I know you hate not having it with y…"

"Of course I'm sure!" Natsu interrupted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, before letting his hand slide down her cheek. "This scarf, it means that Igneel will always be with me. But, while you're away, it will mean  _I_ 'm always with  _you_."

Lucy let the scarf fall back onto her collarbone, not even caring about the smile that wouldn't leave her lips, nor about the redness that had taken her cheeks.

"This is too much." She tried to complain, but there was too much joy in her voice. Happy and Natsu beamed at her, satisfied that their plan had worked.

"It's not." The dragon slayer fixed his eyes on her, light-hearted even when he was completely serious. "It's a… token. I think that's what Levy called it, when I told her the plan. Until you come back home."

Home, there he was, using that word again.

Something got stuck in Lucy's throat, a confession or laughter, and her expression turned back into blankness. Natsu seemed to catch the change, because he frowned and parted his lips, as if he were about to say something.

He was silenced, however, by Lucy's mouth pressing against his.

It was quick: hard contact of his chapped lips on her lipstick-covered ones as the whistle calling for the passengers let everyone know that the train would be departing soon.

In a moment, it was done. Lucy stumbled back, face flushed like it had never been before.

"For good luck!" She shouted, feeling amusement and dread burn inside her while she watched the shocked looks the other two wore.

She ran backwards, boarding as fast as she could, not knowing if she was running away from him or if she simply wanted to take a last look at them before leaving.

Just as the train started moving, the celestial mage glanced out of her window to catch the breathtaking grin of her best friend as he and his flying cat waved her goodbye.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I'm being able to convey their development, because that's basically my entire goal with these stories. They are older and still learning where they are going.
> 
> The song is High Hopes, by Kodaline.


End file.
